Album review: 'Taphonomy'

Here's the perfect soundtrack to those skate park blooper reels where a kid wipes out on a half-pipe and breaks everything when he eventually lands. Or maybe a NASCAR race with opposing traffic. Instrumental power house Bailey Mason Lickers — or BML — has arrived with these two descriptive scenarios covered on its new CD, "Taphonomy."

This record is f***ing brutal, played with Hammer of the Gods power and ballerina grace. But dainty, they ain't. It's borderline math metal, but you won't need an abacus to bang your head here. Everyone in this trio is a player's player when it comes to his instrument. Drummer Ronnie Lickers keeps it high and tight with a rudimentary minimalist kit, while bassist Toby Bailey and guitarist Brian Mason duke it out in the sky. Lickers also adds the vocal prompts on the last track, "Funkonomy."

You'll need a back brace and a mouth guard for this 9-song thrill ride, junior. BML has moved on from Lockport's Watchman Studios to More Sound Studios in Syracuse for this. But none of the hard and heavy of past endeavors has been lost. In fact, there might be a little more air breathing between the band's pummel of thunder and strokes of lighting. BML: louder than God (better looking, too).